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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27954497">golden apple</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/GhostWithAScythe/pseuds/GhostWithAScythe'>GhostWithAScythe</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>For The Good Children Of God [5]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Minecraft, Cross-Posted on Wattpad, Gen, Minor Injuries, billy is in creative, zombies and other mobs</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-11 00:21:18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,752</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27954497</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/GhostWithAScythe/pseuds/GhostWithAScythe</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Ize wanted to take a peaceful nap in the woods. As he wakes up, there's a storm about to break loose and make his life miserable.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Billy | Shadowapples &amp; Isaac | PrivateFearless</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>For The Good Children Of God [5]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1896769</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>golden apple</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>- isaac's pov -</strong>
</p>
<p>Isaac startled awake with a gasp and jolted upright. Frantically, he looked around in the clearing for the creeper he <em>definitely</em> just saw until his mind slipped back into reality and he realised he had been dreaming. With a relieved sigh he flopped back into the soft grass he planned to continue his nap in. But something caught his eye just before he closed them. For a moment he stared up at the sky and pondered what was wrong, before he realised - the sky was dark! </p>
<p>Heavy, gray and black clouds had replaced the fluffy white ones he fell asleep to. A chill breeze swept through the woods and the clearing which was his favourite napping spot. Isaac sat up again, worried. He had no idea for how long he slept and since the sun was covered by dark, storm promising clouds, he couldn't tell the time by its position either. But it was a bit too gloomy for his taste. </p>
<p>Suddenly uncomfortable, Isaac stood up. He should probably get back to the village. He just reached the edge of the clearing when lightning flashed across the sky, almost immediately followed by rumbling thunder. Isaac picked up his pace. </p>
<p>Here, in the forest, it was even darker. Ize squinted his eyes, but he still struggled to find the path again that lead back to his village. Luckily, he had come to this place a thousand times in the past, so he knew the way by heart. 
Ize rushed through the forest as fast as possible in the twilight, increasingly worried. It was dark enough to allow zombies and other monsters to leave their hideouts and roam the forest - which was bad, really bad. He didn't have any weapons with him since he didn't plan on staying out so long and there was no sign of a storm earlier. </p>
<p>"I just wanted to take a nap in peace, man...", he mumbled to himself while he ducked beneath some low branches and rounded a tall oak tree. Behind that he carefully climbed onto a boulder which blocked the path. For a moment, he paused on top of it, listening and looking around for any mobs. But the wind picked up again, creating various background noises so he could only hear rustling leaves, creaking branches and occasional thunder. </p>
<p>'<em>Just gotta hope for the best!</em>', Ize decided and jumped down, continuing his way. </p>
<p>He got approximately halfway back to the village, he guessed, before it started to rain. It was just a light drizzle and he was somewhat protected by the trees, but it made this whole situation ten times worse. Gritting his teeth and silently cursing everyone and everything, Ize stumbled through the woods. His thin clothes were soaked in no time and the path was slowly turning into a mud slide. </p>
<p>By now, Isaac was panting from his chase through the woods. It was quite a trip back actually, even though it didn't seem so long when he got here earlier this day. But earlier there was no rain, no darkness and no mud which made him almost lose his balance every few steps he took up the smooth hill he was now climbing. Isaac was cold and wet and still didn't feel safe exactly, but he was still excited as he reached the hilltop. From here he could theoretically already see the village through the trees if it wasn't so damn dark. </p>
<p>Confident he would get home unharmed, Isaac followed the path that winded its way down onto the valley. Slowing down as to not slip on the quite steep descent, he neared another huge boulder, almost blocking the entire path. Only a small space between rock and hillside was left for travellers to squeeze through, but it was blocked by... Oh no. </p>
<p>Isaac bounced back as he spotted the mobs and quickly jumped behind a tree, hiding from the multiple red eyes which hopefully didn't see him. He waited several minutes which stretched out to eternity, his heart pounding in his chest from shock and fear. Then he slowly, very slowly, leaned to the side to peak around the trunk. </p>
<p>Two ugly, brown and black spiders with long legs of at least two feet and faintly glowing, red eyes sat right there at the bottleneck. One was on top of the boulder, lazily shuffling from one edge of the rock to the other and making the typical hissing sounds. The other was on the ground, currently busy creating a cobweb directly in the path, large enough to catch a human. </p>
<p>Isaac hid behind his tree again, devastated. There was absolutely no way he could sneak past these beasts and he also had nothing to fight them with. And he was not about to go into a fist fight with two huge ass spiders, no thanks. </p>
<p>Contemplating his options, he decided there was only one way: He had to go back and then circumvent the spiders in a wide arc. Ize was so close to getting home and everything in him bristled at the thought of staying out in the upcoming storm longer than necessary, but he wasn't stupid. He had no other choice. </p>
<p>Sighing in defeat he pushed himself away from the tree trunk and started the ascent back to the hilltop, where he left the path to follow the ridge, hoping to find another somewhat safe way to the bottom. He didn't like straying from the familiar route but he had no choice, the path would just lead him back to the clearing after all. </p>
<p>So Ize fought his way through bushes and undergrowth while the formerly soft rain became more heavy. The lighting and thunder also was more frequent now and it became even darker. Isaac narrowed his eyes against the raindrops and to better see but he still missed a root sticking out from the ground. He tripped over it, landing on all fours in the dirt and splattering mud all over his arms and legs. Picking himself up again, Isaac angrily kicked the root, only to suppress a cry of pain as he hit his toes. </p>
<p>"You shitty tree, who do you think you are? Stupid thing, just growing in my way...", he grumbled and brushed off some soil. </p>
<p>Isaac was still quietly complaining to himself as a hoarse moan behind him got his attention. Alarmed, he turned around and his blood ran cold. Two zombies turned up behind him and just spotted him. They yelped in excitement at the unexpected snack that just happened to wander through the woods, alone, unarmed. </p>
<p>"Uhh, hey guys!" Ize took a step back as the zombies began tumbling towards him. "We can talk about this, right?" </p>
<p>He gulped. The mobs were faster than he expected and seemed really eager to catch him, so Isaac did the only reasonable thing: He whipped around and ran for his life. </p>
<p>He heard the zombies groan angrily behind him as they began to chase him. They weren't as easy to outrun as Ize had hoped and he wasn't exactly the greatest runner either, so he had to get an idea, <em>fast</em>. He sped through the trees, barely dodging branches and fallen trunks and completely losing his way. He had no idea where he was going. </p>
<p>Gasping for air, Isaac turned around while running, scanning the dark, wet forest behind him for his pursuers. Ecstatic he couldn't spot them immediately he grinned, just as his left foot was caught by some sort of vine. Ize cried out in surprise and shock and lost his balance, not fast enough to catch his fall. He sprawled in the cold, sticky mud but immediately pulled himself up to his hands and knees again, spitting out dirt in disgust. A zombie's moan too close for comfort made him get to his feet again, unconsciously picking up a solid, thick stick. He checked behind him, his eyes wide in fear. </p>
<p>The two zombies came a significant bit closer, but he could still run. Could. But he was sick of it. There only were two dumb zombies, he could take them even without armor and a stick as a weapon! </p>
<p>He blinked rapidly to get the raindrops out of his eyes and readied himself for the fight. Pumped with adrenaline Ize was about to take the initiative and charge at the zombies as he suddenly heard a familiar grunting from his right side. Stopping dead in his tracks, he turned around - and nearly dropped his weapon. 
A whole army of zombies was coming towards him! Gritting his teeth, he gripped his stick harder. "You called for backup, you little fuckers!" </p>
<p>As a response he got a polyphonic and very angry sounding moan. Ize contemplated fighting for a few more seconds, but he would probably not survive this. So, running again. </p>
<p>He spun around and made a total of two steps before an arrow suddenly zipped past him directly in front of his face. Isaac shrieked very manly and tumbled back in shock, just in time for another arrow to miss him. There was a bloody skeleton somewhere! </p>
<p>He whirled around again, trying to get away from new threat. This time, he only made one step before he collided with a zombie. </p>
<p>The human and the undead stared at each for a heartbeat before the zombie yelped in triumph and grabbed Isaac's arm. Crying out in shock and fear Ize yanked his arm back and actually freed himself from the zombie. He doubled over, landing in the mud again, and got to his feet fast enough to dodge an angry, but clumsy attack from the zombie. Then he dipped. </p>
<p>By the time Isaac's brain processed what just happened he was already sprinting through the woods at full speed. He had no way, no direction to run, he just wanted to get away. The panic and adrenaline in his body gave him enough strength to get some distance between him and the undead, before he stopped by a steep hill, panting heavily. He couldn't keep up this chase much longer. But there were still hostile-sounding noises not too far behind him, some zombies grunting and the dry rattling of skeleton bones. 
Yeah, staying here was probably not the smart move right now, but neither was running away until dawn. He had to hide somewhere. Slowly recovering his breath Isaac scanned the area, looking for... anything helpful, really. </p>
<p>His gaze finally settled on the hillside in front of him. Neither zombies nor skeletons were any good at climbing and with the rain making everything slippery this would be hard even for him. But right now the hill was his best option. </p>
<p>Without wasting any more time - zombies might be slow, but they were persistent, those fuckers - Ize started the climb. It went well for the first couple meters. Then a small bush he used as a step gave way under his weight, its roots no longer stabilised by the ground. A cascade of dirt and rocks slid down the slope and Isaac sprawled in the mud once more. </p>
<p>Cursing violently, he got to his tired feet again, roughly brushing off the mud. He continued stumbling upwards, partly on all fours, gritting his teeth. He was about to say "Screw it" and just lay down and let some dumb zombie eat him or something. Maybe being shot by a skeleton would be quicker. Either way, he was so sick of all the darkness and rain and monsters and the goddamn mud! Also, he was tired and hungry and the sludge covering his left arm burned like hell, he probably cut himself somewhere. Well, getting a blood poisoning didn't actually sound that bad 'cause that would mean he survived the night. </p>
<p>And then the ground before him was suddenly even again. Isaac straightened up, squinting his eyes to see in the rainy night, and took in his surroundings. He was on top of a hill that was drawn out through the woods, with the steep slope he just climbed up on one side and a smooth descent down to a cliff on the other side. The cliff was several meters high, but not that bad. If worst came to worst he could jump, but he was pretty safe from monsters from at least two sides here. </p>
<p>"Better than nothing...", he mumbled, walking around the huge spruce tree right by the cliff. The thick needles of the tree held off some of the rain, so beneath it was the driest place Isaac had been to in the last hour or so. He didn't really know what time it was. </p>
<p>Leaning against the trunk he closed his eyes, taking a deep breath and relaxing. It was fine. He was fine. More or less. Opening his eyes again he inspected his right arm, making out some shallow, bloody scratches in the darkness. Probably from the zombie that grabbed him earlier. Clenching his teeth in pain, Ize wiped the wounds with his shirt. It was covered in mud (just like the rest of him), but it was also soaked with rain and the only way of cleaning the scratches he had. </p>
<p>Distracted like he was, Isaac did not hear the footsteps behind him. He did hear the terribly familiar hissing sound, but it was to no use. The creeper that came up behind him unnoticed exploded before he could move an inch.</p>
<p>Luckily, the tree trunk took most of the force so it didn't kill him instantly, but Isaac was still flung backwards, right over the edge. For a heartbeat he was floating, falling while not falling, just like all the raindrops around him, and it was beautiful. And then he dropped like a stone and hit the ground with his back first. Ize had time to hear something crack inside of him before his head hit the ground hard. His whole world lit up in clear, white pain. Then it went dark. </p>
<p>
  <strong>X-x-X-x-X</strong>
</p>
<p>Isaac blinked. Raindrops left cold stings on his cheeks as he stared up at the black clouds. </p>
<p><em>'Huh. The rain got worse.'</em>, was the first thing that came to his mind. He frowned. Why was he laying on the ground outside, at night, in the rain, again? His thoughts were moving so, so slow, but he had the feeling like he forgot something very important. What happened?</p>
<p>Ize squinted his eyes and tried to force the memory to come back. He was... on the run. Running, yeah. And he fell? No, he was fallen. Something hit him, downright threw him off the cliff. The cliff! Isaac opened his eyes. The zombies, the arrow, the rain, mud, a hill, climbing - the creeper! Like a wave the memories flooded back into his awareness and he jolted up with a gasp. </p>
<p>The sudden movement was the waking call for his body. Ize groaned in pain as an awful burning pain bloomed in his chest, spreading through his entire body. Additional to that his head started pounding with a dull ache. He drew in a sharp breath to suppress a cry but that only made things worse, it felt like he was breathing in nails and glass splinters. With a painful moan Ize sank back to the wet, cold ground, clutching his left side. He surely broke some ribs, he could only hope nothing pierced his lungs, otherwise he'd probably choke on his own blood and die out here, in the storm. </p>
<p>Whimpering in pain he curled up, trying to get as much pressure off his injured side as possible. He sniffled, the unexpected pain had brought tears to his eyes, but still he refused to cry. </p>
<p>Instead, Isaac moved his hands beneath him and pressed his upper body up. The pain flared up again, but he just gritted is teeth and finally got to his knees. His entire body was aching and every breath hurt like hell, but he couldn't stay here. He wasn't ready to die just yet. </p>
<p>He stayed like this, hunched to the ground, for several minutes, gathering strength from the last reserves of his body. Then he slowly stood up. The world was swaying around him and he stumbled, almost losing his balance. He caught himself in the last moment and tried to focus, willing his head to stop spinning. </p>
<p><em>'Really bad concussion'</em>, he added to his mental list of Things That Fucking Hurt, right below "Standing next to an exploding creeper". </p>
<p>He had to wait a few minutes or so, but finally the world stopped spinning and he was able able to focus again. First off he got an overview of his surroundings, although there was nothing really interesting. Lots of trees, lots of rain, lots of darkness and the cliff he fell off. But something caught his eye. </p>
<p>Wiping the rain water away from his eyes, Isaac tried to see clearer. There was an ink black patch in gray and brown shades of the hillside, it kinda looked like... a hole in the hill? </p>
<p>
  <em>'It could be a cave!'</em>
</p>
<p>The thought brought up excitement and fear likewise, but Ize only pondered for a second. Caves were dangerous, yes, but so was staying out here. And the idea of sitting down somewhere dry and rest sounded way too tempting for him to just ignore it. So he made a careful step and stopped again, listening to his body for the pain to flare up again. Since he didn't feel that bad, Isaac decided he was good to go. The walk over to the cave entrance was short, but Ize was close to breaking down at the end of it. Every single breath was torture and he was shivering slightly, the cold mud covering his skin and clothes draining the warmth from his body. </p>
<p>But the rain stopped. Isaac sighed in relief as he stepped deeper into the cave. It was almost pitch black and he had to stretch out his arms to make sure he didn't run into a wall. Following the right wall, he made it around the cave and back to the entrance without tripping, hitting his head or finding a monster, so Ize declared the hollow a safe place. </p>
<p>Sitting down on a ledge near the entrance, Isaac stared out into the storm. He was so fucked. He leaned back against the cavern wall, not even feeling the cold of the stone anymore, and closed his eyes. He was stuck in a not actually very safe hole in sane random hill in the forest during a thunderstorm, God knows how far from the safety of the village. Additional to that, he was injured, barely able to walk and definitely in no state to fight any mob, not even the dumbest zombie. Oh, he was so screwed. </p>
<p>Isaac sniffled and angrily brushed away the tear on his cheek. He may die, but he won't cry! He still had his dignity. Still, Ize couldn't suppress a sob that made him remember his broken ribs again. Clenching his teeth to save himself more unnecessary pain, he suddenly saw light behind his closed eyes. Confused, Ize blinked them open and peaked around the corner of the cave entrance. His jaw dropped. </p>
<p>There was a guy outside, standing in the rain. And he was glowing. Ize pulled his head back.</p>
<p>"I'm seeing things now. Great.", he murmured to himself, baffled. That was the only logical explanation: He was just hallucinating. How hard did he hit his head? </p>
<p>"Hello!" </p>
<p>Isaac turned his head and stared. The hallucination was standing right in front of him. Talking to him. The soft, golden shine he emitted filled the entire cave and felt warm on Ize' skin, like sunlight - although that was impossible. He couldn't feel a hallucination. </p>
<p> The other guy frowned as Ize just gaped at him, not saying a word. "Are you okay?" </p>
<p>Then he reached out and touched Isaac's shoulder. Immediately, the warm golden shine jumped over on his skin, covering him in light and warmth within seconds as Ize watched with wide eyes. Then he looked back at the probably-not-a-hallucination-guy. </p>
<p>"You... are real." He would have probably cringed at his voice, he sounded completely lost and done with everything, if he wasn't frozen. His mind hadn't caught up to the happenings yet, everything was so... Ize couldn't even find a word to describe it. </p>
<p>"Of course I'm real! What did you think?" </p>
<p>The definitely-real-guy seemed offended and pulled back his hand, the light and warmth leaving Isaac's body. Isaac slowly shook his head. He had a hard time believing all of this was actually happening, but he tried. He took a deep breath - the stinging pain in his chest reminding him he was not dreaming, sadly - and decided to just accept the things as they were, for now. He actually looked the glowing dude over for the first time.</p>
<p>Apart from the light, he looked like a completely normal human, about his age, with shoulder-length, dark blond hair and... pointy ears? Maybe not like a normal human. Isaac didn't question it. The weirdest thing about the other was, he was completely dry, even though he was out in the rain just a minute before. </p>
<p>"Who the fuck are you?", Isaac managed to ask after a good five minutes of just staring at each other. </p>
<p>"You can call me Billy. I keep an eye on you mortals. And that's why I'm here, I'm gonna help you!" </p>
<p>Ize didn't go into the "you mortals" part, but he managed a lopsided smirk on the second sentence. "I could use some help, you know. That fucking creeper got me good." </p>
<p>Billy hummed thoughtfully. "Yeah, creepers seem to not like humans." He shrugged. "They just ignore me, so...", he trailed off and instead held his hand out, palm up. Ize watched in amazement as the air right above his hand started to blur and a shiny, glistening apple manifested right there. "Here, take this." </p>
<p>Ize eyed the apple warily, but made no move to accept it. "Are you sure?" He arched his eyebrows. "These things are rare, no sane person just gives one to a random stranger they found in the woods." </p>
<p>Billy cocked his head, irritated, then shrugged. "Are they? Huh. I can make as many as I want." He held out his second hand and materialized another apple. "Do you want two?" </p>
<p>Staring at him with wide eyes, Ize shook his head. "No, I... I think one is fine." </p>
<p>Golden Apples were powerful healing items, they gave the consumer strength and healed wounds. Special ones could even save people on the verge of death. They had some in the village, but they were reserved for emergencies. </p>
<p>So of course Isaac hesitated to take the apple, but since Billy kept smiling and looking expectantly at him, he accepted the fruit and took a bite. A sweet, rich taste filled his mouth as he chewed the piece. Ize hummed in surprise, eating the next bites with relish. That apple was fucking amazing! </p>
<p>"This-", he said between two bites, holding up the apple. "is good. I've never had anything better!" </p>
<p>"Oh, really?" Billy watched him munch on the golden fruit with an unreadable expression. "I don't taste things and I never get hurt, so... I never bothered to eat one of these." </p>
<p>Ize swallowed and stopped before his last bite to look at the glowing man, incredulous. "You... have no sense of taste. And you're invincible."  </p>
<p>Billy nodded and Ize gave him a strange look, but decided not to ask. If this guy was walking around as bright as a piece of glowstone and could also magically create things, being invincible wasn't the weirdest thing about him. </p>
<p>Instead, he finished his golden apple. With the last bit he swallowed, a warm feeling bloomed in his stomach, spreading through his entire body in no time. Tiredness and cold were replaced by strength and a pleasant feeling of relaxation. The warmth concentrated in his chest, head and injured arm, heating up until it was almost painful. Isaac gasped at the heat, but it was gone as fast as it came, leaving only a very welcomed dullness. The pain was still there, especially in his chest, but it was pushed back to the edge of his awareness and didn't hinder him anymore. Brushing away some mud, Ize also noticed the gashes on his arm had closed. The golden apple really did an awesome job at healing him. </p>
<p>As the warm feeling died down - although it didn't go away completely - Ize grinned at his saviour. "Thanks, man. I feel great, that apple is an amazing painkiller." </p>
<p>Billy nodded, smiling. "No problem. Come on now, we should go." </p>
<p>He turned around and left the cave, once more untouched by the rain. Ize rushed after him, but didn't step outside, instead calling after him.
"Hey, wait a second! Where are you going?" </p>
<p>Billy scowled. "Taking you back to your home, of course. This wouldn't be a real rescue if I just left you here!" </p>
<p>Ize let his gaze wander. It was scarily dark, with Billy being the only light source, it was pouring, windy, cold, and thunder was roaring overhead. All in all, Isaac really didn't want to go out there. "You know, I think I'm fine here, actually. I like this hollow very much." </p>
<p>Billy looked back at him, an irritated expression on his face. "You want to stay? Here?" </p>
<p>Ize crossed his arms. "Yeah. Who knows what's hiding out there in the darkness? One encounter with a creeper is enough for today." </p>
<p>Billy rolled his eyes and came back, grabbing Ize' hand a pulling him out in the storm. "Come on, don't be a coward. No mob's gonna hurt you as long as you're with me." </p>
<p>Ize struggled to escape his grip but that glowing idiot was strong. Also, Billy's light and warmth jumped over on him again and somehow even kept the rain away, so he gave up eventually, resorting to cursing the glowstone-wannabe under his breath. </p>
<p>Like that they made their way through the forest. Billy was leading the way with confidence, he seemed to know the way, and Ize had no objections. He let himself be dragged along, following that strange guy. Billy held his hand the entire time, somehow keeping them both dry, warm and mostly unaffected by the storm gusts. </p>
<p>Ize was grateful for it. The golden apple had given him energy, but its effects were wearing off and slowly exhaustion seeped back into his bones, making his feet feel heavy and every step a challenge. </p>
<p> They were wandering through the woods for what seemed like ages, Ize only stumbling along now. Still, Billy kept up a quick pace, checking every once in a while on him. Ize just gritted his teeth and tried to keep up, he really didn't want Billy to leave him here. He probably wouldn't do that, but still. </p>
<p>And then Billy stopped. Ize didn't react fast enough and bumped into him, losing the physical contact as the both stumbled. His magical umbrella was gone immediately and the rain pattered down on him mercilessly. Shivering in the sudden coldness, Ize followed Billy's gaze, down from the small hill they were standing on. His heart jumped happily as he recognized the lights of his village, torches and fires promising warm and safe places. </p>
<p>Excited, Ize turned back to Billy, just to find him gone. His smile faltered as he looked around, only finding darkness and trees. There was no sign of him anywhere. </p>
<p>Disappointed, Ize turned around again, heading down the hill towards his village. He hadn't even had the chance to properly thank his unusual saviour properly. Without him, he would probably not have survived the night. </p>
<p>Ize followed the gravel path between the houses and fields to his house, pausing before opening the door. He turned back towards the forest, smiling. "Thank you!", he whispered, and entered the house. </p>
<p>Lighting up some torches, Ize allowed himself to relax. He was safe here, finally and completely. Exhausted, he dropped onto his bed and noticed the gift on his pillow just now. An apple was lying there, its golden surface shining warmly in the torch light. Isaac's smile grew bigger. So <em>that</em> was what Billy did with the second apple he summoned! </p>
<p>He placed the golden apple on his night stand, slipped beneath the covers and let tiredness overtake him, promising to himself that he wouldn't eat the apple. He'd give it back, as a thank you. Someday. </p>
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